Smitty's, Jasper (Canada) by Bureaucrat

Food invokes childhood memories.  I remember thinking having lunch at Denny's (located inside Kmart near its tyre and automotive section in Brandon Park) as a kid and thinking it was the most amazing and delicious meal that I have ever eaten.  I don't know whatever happened to Denny's but I do think back to it from time to time.

So when I saw Smitty's, which is a family style diner, it made me think of Denny's.  The uniformed staff, the booths, the Americana vibe, wallet-friendly prices meant that the place was filled with young families, golden oldies and tourists.

By this point we had been in Canada for about a week and we had yet to try poutine - a national dish of sorts.  The Canadians are onto a good thing here - a plate of chips laden with gravy and cheese.  While this was an okay rendition of poutine (it was a tad too salty for me), I'm sure there are more gourmet versions of this all across the country.  I like the idea of smothering my fried carbs w gravy and cheese - all it needs on top is a runny fried egg.  

For dinner, the Lawyer got the steak burger which came with onion rings and a choice of side - in this case, he chose the fruit salad.  Topped with lots of fresh salad, to offset the slightly greasy but delicious steak and onion rings, the Lawyer wolfed down the burger.  The fruit was pre-made but still fresh.

He also got a glass of iced tea.

I decided to go old school and ordered liver and onions.  I don't usually like offal but I do like liver - something about the creamy texture about liver is very comforting.  Two slices of beef liver pan fried with proper bacon (my god, the Canadians really know how to cook their bacon) and onions.  It was a bit over cooked but I'd much rather my livers to be over cooked than under cooked.  The livers were delish with the gravy, a serve of rice, steamed veg and a light-as-air slice of garlic bread.  Simple but really good.  

We also got a slice of a deep dish apple pie for dessert.  A thin pastry loaded with chunky apple slices and drizzled with caramel and served with whipped cream.  

Verdict - we liked it a lot.

Overall

We really liked Smitty's.  The food was good, the service was good and the price was good.  Some of the reviews have noted the poor service and food but we had no issues with either.  Granted, the food ain't gourmet but it's homely, filling and done pretty well.